NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Right to privacy
is fundamental - Supreme Court: In a
path-breaking decision, the Supreme Court held that privacy is a fundamental
right under the Constitution of India. However, like all other fundamental
rights, it is not absolute. Delivering the unanimous verdict of the nine-judge
bench, Chief Justice J.S. Khehar said: “Privacy is intrinsic to the right to
life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution and an inherent
part of fundamental freedom under part III of the Constitution.”
2. Nandan Nilekani returns to Infosys as the new Chairman: The appointment,
a significant victory for co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy in his fight against
the board of Infosys, will soothe the nerves of the company’s largest
investors, who have been spooked by the events of the past week, during which
Vishal Sikka stepped down as CEO.
3. Political tug-of-war over NMML: A tug of war is playing out between those who want
to preserve the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library and those who want it to
honour other Indian prime ministers as well. According to a press
statement, Rajnath Singh, who is also vice-president of the NMML Society, told
the meeting that the planned museum for former prime ministers will be
showcased as an iconic one and will utilize 3D technology to offer a virtual
reality experience. However some people, who are in the administration of the
same, are of the opinion that the museum should for Pt. Nehru exclusively.
4. DGCA may soon issue drone flying licence for
civilians: Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) may
soon issue licences for flying both small and large drones for civilian use. At
present only government organizations and companies are permitted to fly
drones. The regulator plans to start issuing remote pilot licences (RPL), which
are much like the commercial pilot’s licences (CPL) or private pilot’s licences
(PPL) it issues to pilots.
5. Govt dilutes UDAN scheme norms to boost regional
connectivity: The relaxations
include dilution of the exclusivity clause mandating that only one airline may
fly on one route in the initial years. The norm that restricted two airports in
close proximity from participating in the bidding has also been relaxed.
6. India
and Nepal sign 8 MoUs: India and Nepal have signed eight Memorandum of
Understanding (MoUs) in various fields, including Housing grant, prevention of
drugs, post-earthquake reconstruction packages in health and education sectors.
The agreements were inked after delegation level talks between Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and his visiting Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba in New
Delhi.
7. CCEA
approves renaming SAMPADA Scheme as PM Kisan Sampada Yojana: The SAMPADA
scheme was approved by the CCEA in May 2017 for the period of 2016-20
coterminous with the 14th Finance Commission cycle. The objective of the scheme is to supplement
agriculture, modernize processing and decrease agricultural-waste.
8. Government
to establish first National Sports Museum in New Delhi: The Union
Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs is going to establish National Sports
Museum at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi. It will be first of its kind in
the country. It will showcase the India’s achievements in sports and also focus
on the traditional sports within the country.
9. Cabinet
approves commission on sub-categorisation of OBCs: The Union Cabinet approved a
proposal for setting up of Commission under article 340 of the Constitution to
examine the issue of sub-categorization of OBCs. The Commission shall be known
as the Commission to examine the sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes
(OBCs). It will submit its report within 12 weeks of the date of appointment of
the Chairperson.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Climate Smart Snow Leopard Plan launched by Nepal: Nepal launched its first, ‘Climate Smart Snow Leopard Landscape
Management Plan’, in order to safeguard this endangered species. This conservation plan was announced ahead of Nepal’s International Snow
Leopard Summit and Ecosystem Forum.
OTHER UPDATES:
BUSINESS & ECONOMY:
1. Hero FinCorp in talks to raise Rs1,000 crore at $1
billion valuation: Hero FinCorp Ltd,
the financial services arm of India’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp
Ltd, is looking to raise up to Rs1,000 crore at a valuation of $1 billion at
its next funding round. Credit Suisse, which was mandated to manage the fund-raising,
has approached several large domestic and global private equity funds for a
potential investment.
2. BharatMatrimony.com parent may launch Rs. 500 crore
IPO in September: Popular
matchmaking website BharatMatrimony.com’s parent company, Matrimony.com Ltd, is
planning to go public in the first half of September. Matrimony’s business
comprises two segments—matchmaking services and marriage services. The company
operates multiple portals such as BharatMatrimony.com, CommunityMatrimony.com
and EliteMatrimony.com.
3. Google rolls out its biggest crackdown on YouTube
hate speech: Google will
police YouTube like it never has before, adding warnings and disabling
advertising on videos that the company determines contain hate speech or
promote terrorism. YouTube isn’t removing the selected videos, but is
instead setting new restrictions on viewing, sharing and making money on
them.
4. Soft Bank invests additional $3 billion in
shared-office startup WeWork: WeWork has received
an additional $3 billion investment from Japan’s SoftBank Group and its Vision
Fund, helping the shared-office startup ramp up its expansion globally.
5. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Kabir Khan, Karan Johar top
Nepotism Index by Mint: In an attempt to
quantify the extent of nepotism in the industry, and to measure how nepotism
varies across production houses, Mint has developed a Nepotism Index,
based on the share of insiders (those with Bollywood family connections) cast
as leads. Nadiadwala Grandsons Entertainment tops the list of companies in
nepotism index. The index is developed by Mint, a leading financial daily of
India.
6. Roopa Purushothaman as chief economist of Tata Sons: Tata Sons has appointed
Roopa Purushothaman as chief economist & head of policy advocacy. She will
drive macroeconomic research as well as policy & advocacy initiatives
relevant to businesses of Tata group.
No comments:
Post a Comment